Baby: Chiara Mae

Happy Monday! Its rainy here in Southern California.. so I wanted to post a little something that will brighten up your day.
So Chiara's proud papa wasn't able to be there when we did her newborn shoot, so we scheduled a daddy/daughter shoot for a few days after (which I will be sharing very soon). And once we had wrapped, little miss Chiara was still so sound asleep that I just had to set this shot up. I had been dyin to do it during her previous newborn shoot, but she wouldn't have it. Something about having just met me and how dare I ask her to show her bare bum.
Now that she was more comfy in front of the camera (and admittedly it was warmer in the house that day), she allowed her momma to gently pose her on this gorgeous dining room chair. And that was it. I had some gorgeous natural light and Chiara had natural baby deliciousness... a recipe for photo perfection.
No hoping here. I KNOW you will absolutely love these. As always.. shot and worked on with so much love! 

I have to tell ya'll that the last picture easily makes my top 5 favorite photos I have ever taken. Its beautiful and cute and artsy and easy.. and your eyes want to cover every inch of it all at the same time. *dreamy sigh*
Shannon & Brian.. thank you for allowing me to document this time in your lives. Really hope I've been able to capture at least a little bit of your daughter's total perfection. xo

Engagement: Phil + Elizabeth

Ohmygoodness. What can I say about these two? So in love with them. So in love with this shoot. And so very excited to be sharing these photos with all of you! This is actually the first of two parts. And if you like these.. just wait for part II!
Phil and I have actually known each other for years, but they still scheduled to meet with me before hiring me to do their engagement photos. Elizabeth had an idea of what she wanted and I think it was important for her to feel comfortable with whoever was going to do the shoot. I say all of this to encourage any of you out there who are looking to hire a photographer.. to do everything you can to meet with them in person or at least chat on the phone.  Lots of people out there take amazing photos, but because of basic personality differences you might not be stoked to spend an entire afternoon with them.
Obviously (and oh so happily!) they hired me, and Elizabeth and I emailed back and forth a lot and used a pinterest board to help plan and style the shoot. I'm so happy we did that because we were able to take advantage of the estate.. we had planned for the weather.. and because they were so well prepared they felt really comfortable in the different outfits they chose. Regarding location, we were very lucky to be able to use her grandfather's estate in San Diego.. and even luckier to have her mother join us for the day as our very sweet assistant! The weather was a bit gray and misty for the first part of the day (and then cleared up beautifully in the afternoon), but these two weren't bugged a bit by the chill and drizzle.
I have to say that shooting on this property was dreamy. All of the gorgeous nooks and crannies combined with the energy that these two have all added up to an incredibly fun day. As always, I shot and worked on these with oh-so-much-love and really hope that ya'll love them too!

Just a little side note here. I love how tricky and amazing light is. Out in front of this doorway (above) the light was cool because the sky was still overcast at that point. But they stepped just a couple of feet back and the yellow walls above the door way created a yummy warm light.

Come on now. How cute are these two?

From cute to fiercely beautiful in .2 seconds.

I just love how easily they make each other laugh. *happy sigh*

And come on now! How can you not love that tree?! *another happy sigh*

Elizabeth and Phil... it was SUCH an honor to have been a part of this time in your lives. Elizabeth, I especially loved getting to know you. Phil.. you are an extremely lucky guy. ;)  Hope you two are enjoying all the wedding planning and I'm so looking forward to showing off the rest of the photos. Big hug to you both!!

Another Sneak Peek: Kim + Ryan

There are very few downsides to being a photographer. One of those is how much time you spend sitting in front of a computer all by yourself. As someone who loves making my own hours and working in my p.j.'s.. it isn't all that horrible. But I do get frustrated when I'm working on a project I'm excited about.. and there is no one around to show the photos off to! Most of the time I just push through knowing that I'll be able to share them with the client as soon as I'm done.. but every once in a while impatience gets the better of me.
This is one of those times.
Obviously I must really be in love with the photos I took of Kim and Ryan.. because this is actually the second sneak peek I've posted of their wedding.
Since my very first photo shoot with this couple.. I was fascinated with how Kim and Ryan fit. And there is just something about this photo that shows exactly what I mean. We wrapped our portrait session and were heading off the beach.. she was daintily holding her dress and he was just holding her hand. Easy and awesome. *happy sigh*

Sneak Peek: Kim + Ryan

Kim & Ryan love crossfit.

Kim & Ryan love the beach. 

And Kim & Ryan love penguins.

Because penguins mate for life.

Baby Shower: Emily

I had the honor of photographing Emily Owen's baby shower a couple of weeks ago but I had to wait a bit to share the pics with you because it was being given major love over at Lil Sugar and Style Me Pretty Living. Now that their viewers have had a chance to ooh and aah over this adorable afternoon.. I wanted to share my favs of the day with you all!
This day was brought to you by the the fabulous Rachelle of Wiley Valentine, Emily's sweet sister Sara and her very good friend Lindsay. They had a lot of help putting it together.. making it incredibly obvious just how excited everyone is about the upcoming birth of her baby girl!
I oh-so-heart baby showers.. and this one was wildly special. Hope you love these pics.. as they were taken and worked on with much love! ---
So I had to start off with the gorgeous invite.. designed and printed by Wiley Valentine. This particular photo doesn't show off the detailed yumminess of the invite.. but trust me.. those girls know their paper.

One of my favorite things about this shower was the Mobile Signing station. Guests were asked to personalize a cut-out wooden animal figure to hang from a DIY mobile for the baby's nursery. So sweet!!

And the other uber-creative and awesome concept was hosting a tea bar as part of the shower, where guests could take home some loose leaf tea as their party favor.

And of course.. there were drinks. And food. And it was all beautiful. Anyone who has ever planned any type of party knows how much work goes in to figuring out what and how much to feed their guests. So to go beyond that and make it all look so great, takes a huge deal of creativity, love and hard work. By the way.. it all tasted even better than it looks. Seriously.

Before you knew it.. lunch was over and it was time for dessert. And I loved how quickly the table was converted in to the dessert station. Again.. just being thoughtful and creative with the space that you have.

Finally.. after all of the sweet details.. come the sweet faces.

That sweet lady lookin up at Emily is Wendy, Emily's mom. She was gracious enough to open up her gorgeous home for the shower. And all I have to say about those two is.. I don't know them all that well.. but I know I love them anyway. They are that kind of people. Oh.. and that pretty thang next to Emily is her sister Sara... who, by the way, gave THE sweetest toast. Their sisterly bond is precious.. and that baby girl is gonna be lucky to have such an awesome auntie!!

Anywhoo.. it was time for gifts! Have to confess that there were moments that I had to remind myself I was there to work! I was so taken in by the adorable girlie clothes and thoughtful homemade gifts! 

Obviously.. Emily loved it. Even the dog loved it! Everyone there absolutely loved getting to celebrate the soon-to-be rockstar momma! And I just had to end the post with a quick snapshot of the guest of honor and her hostesses. (btw pretty sure Emily could define pregnancy glow!!) 
On a personal note.. I'd like to share that I know that I may not be the most skilled photographer out there. But what I might lack in skill.. hopefully I make up in enthusiasm and passion. When you look at my photos of an event I hope its obvious how happy I was to be there! I'm sharing this because there were a lot of uber-creative and talented women involved with this event. And it was intimidating to be the one responsible for documenting their work. But as I put this post together I couldn't help but do it happily and confidently.. knowing that I did my best to capture what made the day so special. And in my opinion.. what made it so special was all the time and energy that went into showing Emily how adored she is and how excited everyone is that there is going to be a mini-Emily in the world!! So.. as long as this post has shown you that.. then I think I did my job well. :)
And to add an exclamation mark to all of that.. here is a list of people who helped the gracious hostesses make this event possible:

Shower Design & Concept by Rachelle of Wiley Valentine

http://www.wileyvalentine.com

Hand Letterpress Shower invitations, paper goods by Wiley Valentine

http://www.wileyvalentine.com

Florals by Michelle Shaw of Four Petals

mishelleshaw@gmail.com

Backdrop design & mobile station by Jesi Haack 

http://www.jesihaackdesign.com/

Lasercut animals, laser cut stir sticks & "We are Wildly Excited" sign by Amber of Pitbulls and Posies

http://pitbullsandposies.com/

Vintage Sofa vignette by Found Vintage Rentals

http://www.foundrentals.com/

Handmade "The Owen Family" book by Sarah McDonald. Watercolor pages, handbound

Sarah is a Wiley Valentine designer

http://thinkcreatelive.com/

Chinese Take out box noodles & Kale Salad by Nili Stevens of Nili Stevens Inspired Living

http://www.nilistevens.com/

Handmade Giraffe Fabric art by Molly Jay 

https://www.etsy.com/shop/mollyjay

Emily. You are going to be such an amazing mother. I cannot wait to meet your daughter.. and I cannot wait to hear the nursery lullaby album that Joel will put together (cuz you know that has got to happen). So very happy and lucky that our worlds collided. Thanks for being awesome. And thanks for getting knocked up. :}

Personal: Ari

He has no idea that it's his birthday. He doesn't even know what a birthday is. But I do.
I know that Ari turned two years old today. So to celebrate I took him on a hike, and instead of making him keep up with me, I let him stop on the trail as many times as he wanted to. Yes, it took a lot of time and patience. And no, I didn't get my sweat on as much as I normally do. But it felt great to be out in the sun for a few hours and he got to chase a lot more lizards and birds than he normally gets to.
So for his birthday, I got to be outdoors, slow down, laugh, appreciate beautiful scenery, get my tan on, laugh some more and focus on something other than whatever may have been weighing on my mind. Its amazing what I get out of loving on this Compton-born mutt.

Mind you, on our next hike I'm going to have to bring some treats with me and remind him what "heel" means. But he'll catch on quick. Thankfully, birthdays only come once a year. :)

Newborn: Chiara Mae

It is so incredibly fun to be able to go directly from posting the Pezzolla maternity shoot.. to introducing ya'll to their perfectly amazingly adorable baby girl, Chiara (Key-ah-ra) Mae. You can see that maternity shoot by scrolling down, or by clicking here and check out Chiara when she was still in her momma's belly. Born on January 29th.. she was barely a week old here. All ten fingers and all ten tiny toes.. are perfect and amazing.
I actually just shot the most scrumptious (remember that word.. you'll see what I mean in a week or two) photos of her with her parents this past weekend. So I just want to serve this up as an itty bitty yummy appetizer. :)
Finally, I know you won't be able to tell by looking at these pics but this beautiful little firecracker made me do work! Newborn shoots are no joke. Props to all photographers and proud parents who find ways to take great pictures of little babies.. it isn't as easy as one might think. Thankfully.. these photos made all of that hard work totally worth it!
As always.. (but very especially) shot and worked on with oh-so-much-amor!!
Welcome to the world Chiara!!

Maternity: Shannon + Brian

Last week I shared part one of Shannon's maternity shoot and now I am so incredibly happy to be sharing part two. There were no stylists or cute props involved in this shoot, but these two are such gorgeous people.. inside and out.. that I don't think anything could've made these pics any sweeter. Their love and that precious belly easily made this shoot one of my favs. As I'm sure you'll notice, Shannon was SO incredibly pregnant! In fact, she just gave birth to Chiara Mae on 1/29/13.. just a few weeks after these photos were taken. (pics of beautiful Chiara coming soon!)
For this shoot, I asked the couple to drive out to Rancho Palos Verdes to a park that I had previously hiked at, since I knew it would make the perfect backdrop to this beautiful twoandahalfsome! Because of last minute scheduling issues, they told me that we would have less than an hour to shoot.. which actually ended up working out just fine since it happened to be FREEZING that day! What's great is that you would never know that by looking at the photos.. proving that the Pezzollas are great-lookin troopers!
I normally take the time to share my thoughts about different photos.. because I feel like words can help make a picture come to life. And sometimes I feel like words would just get in the way, which is the case for this post. So without further ado.. here they are. As always.. taken and worked on with so much love and I hope you love them too!

I did want to add that I only threw out a joke about making them jump for a photo. I definitely didn't expect for it to happen! But I think it says a lot about her personality (and good health!) that Shannon loved the playful idea and wanted to jump in the air like that with such a full baby belly! Awesomeness.
And that last pic is one of my favorites ever. It required some editing.. but it was minimal because I shot it with the intention of featuring their profiles and it turned out even better than I had planned for.
Shannon & Brian.. I know its only been a week since I've told you how happy I am for you so I'm not going to gush again. Just going to say that I can't wait to show off your perfect baby girl.. and that you guys are gorgeous. And awesome. And your love is ridiculously photogenic. Okay... that's it. :) May ya'll enjoy these for years and years to come!  xo - Andrea